Gil, US set to kick off CONCACAF U-20 Championship

US U-20's begin CONCACAF Championship; 4:30 Monday on FSC

February 18, 2013

Sam Stejskal

RealSaltLake.com

Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil and the U.S. Under-20 national team will kick off its 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship slate on Monday with a Group A match against Haiti in Puebla, Mexico (4:30 p.m. MT, Fox Soccer Channel).

The top four finishers at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship will qualify for this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.

The U.S. will play Haiti and Costa Rica once each in Group A action, with the top two teams from the group advancing to the quarterfinals. If the Stars and Stripes advance out of the Group Stage, they’ll face Canada, Cuba or Nicaragua in the Quarterfinals with a shot at Turkey on the line.

With 54 appearances and 33 starts for RSL in league play under his belt, the 19-year-old Gil has the most professional experience of any player on the U.S. roster. He'll be expected to carry a big load for manager Tab Ramos' side, which spent the last 1 ½ weeks in a training camp in Puebla ahead of Monday’s opener.

"It's always good to have the core guys with you," Gil told USsoccer.com. "It always helps to get our chemistry, especially when we had a few new faces on the last trip. Now that we have everybody together we just have to take that step forward."

The CONCACAF U-20 Championship start on Monday and run until March 3. The U.S. will finish its Group A schedule with a match against Costa Rica on Friday. The tournament Quarterfinals are set for Feb. 26-27, the Semifinals for March 1 and the final for March 3.

Gil is scheduled to return to RSL at the conclusion of the U.S.’s tournament run.